Are you factoring in soft expenses such as vacancy and cap ex which do not happen on a consistent basis but for which you may be budgeting.

Not to mention higher vacancy & capex you would need to account for.

Currently I have a Strip Center with a vacancy that has been incredibly hard to fill. 

That means you may have to deal with tenant turns, some vacancy, some variance in rents, etc.  

You may have considerable vacancy time.

Include the vacancy rate too, because it provides insight into potential risks and cash flow. 

You have potential to get a good mix with low vacancy year round.   

First, the home may produce equivalent income as a long-term rental since there is less vacancy and fewer expenses.

Then what happens on paper a property looks like a cash flows very well, then when you add in vacancies repairs and life in general, they end up having to start using credit cards to pay for things and get caught into that spiral To answer your original question most real estate investors are not buying a property every year.

It is fine and has near 0 vacancy and lots of happy tenants paying good rents.